File PhotoBay City attorney and Delta College trustee Kim A. Higgs sued the college board for a fourth time, saying the board violated the Open Meetings Act.

FRANKENLUST TWP. — Delta College Trustee and Bay City attorney Kim A. Higgs' most recent lawsuit against the board on which he sits has been thrown out of court.

Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran this week dismissed the lawsuit, finding that Higgs was not prevented from speaking at a budget hearing last June and that Delta's Board of Trustees' inquiry into whether his lawsuits against the board represent a conflict of interest does not violate state law or the state Constitution, according to a statement released by Delta College.

"Of course, I am pleased with the court's decision," said Delta Trustee Kimberly Houston-Philpot in the statement. "These frivolous lawsuits regarding the procedural minutia of conducting a Board meeting are not only baseless, they have nothing to do with ensuring the success of the students and the counties we serve, which the rest of the board is squarely focused on."

Higgs sued the board in August, alleging his first amendment rights were violated at Delta College's budget hearing in June after the college's general council and board president denied him the right to address the public. He wanted college officials to admit they violated the Open Meetings Act in order to bring an end to the suit.